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Chocolate Consumption and Women’s Sexual Function.

We have all heard of the supposed aphrodisiac effect of chocolate. The Aztec emperor Montezuma is reputed to have used chocolate in a manner akin to today's Viagra pill. Undoubtedly, the postulated link between sex and chocolate is one of the reasons why it has become so intimately linked to Valentine's Day. That said, has the link been scientifically established or is it simply an unsubstantiated urban legend?

Dr. Andrea Salonia, an Italian physician, along with several of her colleagues published a study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine wherein they collected data on whether or not women consumed chocolate on a daily basis, as well as data on two measures of sexual function and two measures of depression. Of note, women who consumed chocolate daily scored higher on the Female Sexual Function Index (desire subscale and total score) than their counterparts who did not do so on a daily basis. The authors noted that the women in the "chocolate daily" group were slightly younger (average age of 33.9 versus 40.4) so perhaps this might have affected the sexual function scores. When the analyses took into account possible age and body mass index differences between the two groups, the significant effects became weaker albeit they bordered on being marginally significant (p = 0.10 in both instances).

These results are indeed intriguing in that they add to the growing number of studies that have uncovered beneficial effects of chocolate (especially dark chocolate) on several metrics of health, as well as on the positive role of chocolate in improving mood states.

Now that you know why the proverbial chocolate box is such a central element of the Valentine's Day ritual, put on some Marvin Gaye, have some dark chocolate fondue, and let the romance begin.

but isn't one of the first things we learn in an intro psychology class that correlation does not imply causation? The fact eating chocolate daily correlates with a higher desire for sex does not necessarily mean that chocolate causes this increased desire. For example, couldn't it also be that a higher appetite for hedonistic pleasures in general causes them to eat chocolate and desire sex?

Many thanks for your comments. It is absolutely true that the authors have not shown that chocolate consumption causes improved sexual function. However, it is typically awkward to have to provide this caveat for every survey-based study that is published, as it is expected that readers will understand that it has only be shown that the variables in question are related. Incidentally, in some cases, even a statistically significant correlation is an illusory one. That said, surveys are typically incapable of ruling out every possible alternate explanation for a given correlation. This does not imply that we should not find the findings of interest. If we used such stringent benchmarks for survey research, few studies would have ever been published. Most epidemiological studies are survey-based. Hence, none of them strictly speaking establish causation. Should we get rid of all such studies?